Ancestral Artifacts

These were the precious remains of ancient, powerful ferocious beasts, whose condensed runes had formed upon them. The Bone Script mastered by humanity had developed from such rare precious bones; they were the wellspring of mysterious power.

The ferocious beast's arm bone fused with Shi Linhu's arm, blazing with dazzling radiance!

His strength surged explosively. His body astonishingly shot up from two meters to three, becoming much more powerfully built. Bolts of lightning-like light coiled around him, and his blood energy was terrifying.

The Azure-Scaled Eagle gave a long cry. Although it was intimidated by the aura emanating from the beast bone, it was unwilling to accept this. A glimmering sheen gathered around its black, scimitar-like beak, its runes growing ever stronger as it prepared to attack.

A mysterious power was accumulating, converging upon its beak. That spot grew increasingly brilliant, frightening all the birds and beasts in the mountains until they trembled and fled for their lives.

"Fei Jiao, you too!" Village Chief Shi Yunfeng ordered another powerful man of the village to bring forth the second ancestral artifact.

Shi Feijiao was lean and strong. He tossed aside the wolf-toothed club in his hand and circulated his mysterious power. Bone Script immediately lit up across his chest, twinkling like stars. He swiftly pulled an old beast hide, mottled with bloodstains, from his clothing and fiercely pressed it against his chest.

Boom!

A savage, tyrannical aura spread in all directions, throwing every creature in the mountain forest into panic. It was as though an ancient surviving species had appeared here. Even the Azure-Scaled Eagle in the sky shuddered, halting its dive once more. Its eagle eyes were cold and tense.

Light blazed from Shi Feijiao's chest. That ancient beast hide actually fused into his chest, becoming one with his flesh and skin. It gave off vigorous life force and began to bloom with dazzling radiance, finally forming a mysterious symbol.

A beast's head flickered in and out of sight, seemingly struggling to break free from that rune.

It was as if Shi Feijiao had gained another face, one situated on his chest. The rune formed from the fusion of the ancient beast hide with his flesh and blood shone fiercely, gradually taking shape. The vague, terrifying silhouette of a ferocious beast emerged.

A vast pressure swept through the mountain forest, shaking everyone to the core!

This was Stone Village's other ancestral artifact: a piece of ancient beast hide. No one knew what era it had been passed down from. It had clearly been shed from an ancient ferocious beast and had likewise condensed a rare, precious, powerful rune.

Most Bone Script mastered by humanity had been copied from the precious bones of ferocious beasts. But that did not mean all ferocious beasts condensed their mysterious power within their bones. Some formed it in their hide and flesh, or even in their hearts.

Shi Feijiao's entire body shone ever more brilliantly, flickering like flames. He was dazzling from head to toe. From his chest came a beast's roar like thunder, making the mountain forest tremble and stones tumble down.

This was not ordinary Bone Script that humanity had copied, then developed and interpreted. These were the original sources of power: precious bones and beast hide, immensely powerful.

Ordinary villages and tribes certainly would not possess such things, much less two ancestral artifacts at once. Clearly, Stone Village had experienced an extraordinary era at some point in the distant past.

Shi Linhu and Shi Feijiao stood shoulder to shoulder, both gazing up at the ferocious bird in the sky and releasing the power of their ancestral artifacts. Their violent aura surged upward against the heavens like a flood.

Nearby brambles, vines, and great trees could clearly be seen exploding into fragments.

A trace of alarm appeared in the Azure-Scaled Eagle's icy eyes. It did not dare approach, as though it had been completely cowed. The two sides faced each other in a brief period of stillness.

"Ah! The village chief is here! Uncle Lin Hu and the others came to save us!" Several children poked their heads out from the stone cave entrance. When they saw the group of fierce, muscular men in the distance, they cheered.

"Let's go! The village chief and the uncles came to take us home!"

A swarm of children rushed out of the stone cave and ran toward the adults. Meanwhile, Shi Linhu, Shi Feijiao, and the others relied on the two ancestral artifacts to go meet them. The two sides quickly came together.

"Are the little ones all right?" A group of burly men rushed over, scooping up their own children and turning them this way and that as they inspected them, terrified that some part of them had been injured.

"We're fine. We're all fine. Only a few of us got minor scrapes," the children replied.

"It's good that you're fine." The fierce men relaxed, then each raised a fan-sized palm and smacked the children's bottoms with all their strength.

"Ow! That hurts! Why are you hitting us? Weren't you worried about us just now? How did you change your face in the blink of an eye?" the children cried miserably.

One burly man said, "One thing is one thing. Since you're all right, it's time to settle the score properly. Your feathers haven't even grown in yet, and you dared provoke a demonic bird? If I don't smack your butts raw, I'm not your father!"

In midair, the Azure-Scaled Eagle watched them with hostility, its eyes filled with fierce light. Yet it never swooped down, instead maintaining a cautious standoff without acting rashly.

Village Chief Shi Yunfeng shouted, "We need to leave quickly. Lin Hu and Fei Jiao's mastery of Bone Script isn't profound enough to truly unleash the ancestral artifacts' power. Let's return to the village while we can." He himself had an old hidden injury and was not suited for a fierce battle.

All the children had been found, and no one had suffered an accident. That was the best news possible. The group carried great clubs and drew massive bows, cautiously defending themselves as they retreated toward Stone Village, keeping the children protected in their midst.

"Wow, Uncle Lin Hu, you're amazing! All these years, Grandpa Village Chief has been experimenting on you, and he actually achieved such incredible results. You're all geniuses!"

"That's right! Also, Uncle Fei Jiao, what kind of weapons were those? Why have we never seen them before? Do you have to understand Bone Script to use them? Uncles, you're truly magnificent and mighty!"

On the way back, the children ignored the ferocious bird in the sky and worked hard at flattering the adults, afraid they would be harshly punished once they got home.

"Quit wagging your tongues. I'll deal with you later!" Little Monkey's father glared.

The Azure-Scaled Eagle followed them all the way. Only when it neared the village and saw the Old Willow Tree did it shudder. It did not dare enter the village, instead circling in the sky and crying out angrily.

Everyone let out a long breath. With such a powerful descendant of an ancient demonic bird following them all the way, their nerves had remained taut. One wrong move could have cost many lives.

"We used the ancestral artifacts this time. I hope it won't bring us any trouble," the village chief murmured.

"Don't worry, Village Chief. Who would pass through such a remote wilderness? No one could have seen us," Shi Linhu said.

"I hope so. The things our ancestors passed down have gathered dust for far too long. I only hope this incident won't cause some change," Shi Yunfeng said softly.

The bloody battle they had expected did not come. They returned safely to the village, while the demonic bird's descendant cried sharply in the sky, its voice capable of piercing gold and splitting stone.

The moment they entered the village, chaos erupted. The women rushed over and tightly embraced their own children. When they had received the news earlier, they had been scared out of their wits. Meanwhile, the men began looking for planks, preparing to beat this group of troublemaking "brats."

"You little bastards, I'll teach you to cause trouble! Stand right there!"

"Dad, stop hitting me! I know I was wrong!"

The children ran for their lives, and in the end they all fled into the village chief's courtyard, hoping he would plead for them and keep their fathers from laying hands on them.

Once inside the stone courtyard, the children were consumed by envy, jealousy, and resentment. Little Dot had not been punished at all. Instead, he was holding a small porcelain bowl and scooping milk into his mouth with a little wooden spoon.

"Wow, Little Dot, you're drinking milk again! You're already three and a half!" one child shouted.

"Eek!" Little Dot was deeply embarrassed. Hugging the little bowl close, he used his soft, pale hand to hide it from the older children. His small face was flushed red, his long eyelashes fluttering as he defended himself without much conviction. "You saw wrong. I... I'm actually... drinking water."

"Hahaha..." The children burst into laughter.

"We all got beaten. Why do you get beast milk instead?" Little Monkey asked curiously.

"Because I told Grandpa Village Chief a story. He thought it was good, so he didn't blame me." Little Dot's large black eyes darted about.

"What story?"

"Little Red's story."

"What is Little Red?"

"Little Red is that little scarlet bird all over. I told you about it too." Little Dot, Shi Hao, was very dissatisfied.

The children all rolled their eyes and jeered, "The village chief would have to see a ghost to believe that. The Vermilion Bird was only a legend even in ancient times. How could it really exist now, much less let you chase it around?"

"Hmm. Two years ago, some kind of mountain treasure appeared deep within the mountain range and drew many powerful ancient surviving species there. An unimaginable battle broke out. There was once a crimson blaze that burned open the heavens. Even from our village, we could vaguely see heavenly fire burning there without ceasing for dozens of days," the village chief said as he approached.

"Clearly, there is a fire beast deep in the mountains, but it shouldn't be the legendary divine bird. That would be far too unrealistic," Shi Linhu and the others said as they arrived.

"That battle two years ago truly shook the heavens and earth. I really don't know what kinds of ferocious birds and giant beasts came. One night, I saw a humanoid creature towering into the clouds, carrying a black iron staff. It crossed several mountain ridges in a single stride, though I couldn't see its true face." Shi Feijiao sighed. Even now, the memory made his hair stand on end.

Once the adults arrived, the children's faces immediately fell. They had chased them all the way to the village chief's place to punish them.

"Village Chief, we stole the Azure-Scaled Eagle's entire nest of eggs! They can hatch into descendants of ancient demonic birds. In the future, they might even rival the sacrificial spirit and guard our village!"

"That's right! Stone Village will have flying battle birds in the future! These are three eggs from a descendant of an ancient demonic bird!"

The children boasted of their achievement, hoping to earn forgiveness.

"Do you know how much meat it takes to feed one such ferocious bird each day? Food has always been scarce even for ourselves. Where would we find enough extra to raise three gigantic creatures?"

"Ah!" The children's faces crumpled in misery.

"Besides, do you think this is over? Take a look outside the village," an elder sighed.

The children climbed onto a high platform and looked outside, only to be startled. That terrifying Azure-Scaled Eagle stood atop a massive boulder, its gaze icy and its scales gleaming darkly. It had remained outside all this time and had not left.

"This kind of ferocious bird holds grudges most deeply. You stole its eggs—how could it let the matter rest? It'll be hard to leave the village to hunt in the future," Shi Feijiao said worriedly.

The children's faces immediately turned pale. They knew they had caused a tremendous disaster.

"Eek, let's give the eggs back to it. The Azure-Scaled Eagle is pitiful too without its children," Little Dot said softly, blinking his large eyes.

"That bald eagle is terrifying. If we don't return its eggs, it may keep making trouble without end, and the village will know no peace. Even with the ancestral artifacts, dealing with it would be difficult. After all, no one can unleash the precious artifacts' true power."

The villagers decided to send the eggs out and give it a try. If that failed, they would think of another way.

The three jade-green eggs were each as large as washbasins, crystal-clear and speckled with patterns. Beautiful gleaming light flowed over them, mysterious rune power permeating the air amid scattered divine radiance.

The moment everyone stepped out of the courtyard, before they had taken more than a few steps, the charred-black Old Willow Tree beside the altar next to the village chief's stone house suddenly moved. Its sole remaining willow branch, wreathed in emerald mist, descended like a brilliant divine chain and gently brushed over one egg. At once, the egg's radiance surged!