Mountain Forest Uproar

A group of people rushed headlong into the depths of the mountains. The Suanni's lifespan had run dry—it was already dead. That meant its true blood and precious bones had become ownerless treasure. How could anyone not be stirred? "Hurry, we're too slow!" Shi Linhu and the others fretted, terrified that someone would beat them to it.

Towering peaks rose one after another, and the forests stretched without end. Some of the ancient trees were astonishingly massive, their crowns piercing the sky, reaching a full thousand meters high—taller than some mountains. They blotted out the heavens and covered the sun. As for the vines, no one knew how many years they had grown; several adults together could not encircle them. They coiled around the mountains, vigorous as horned dragons.

The people of Stone Village raced all the way there. As they neared the place where the Suanni had fallen, they felt a terrifying presence that weighed heavily on their hearts. It was the lingering pressure left behind by the death of the king of all beasts.

"So quiet!" Everyone sensed that something was wrong. This place was far too silent, without the faintest sound, like a land of death.

There was not even a single bird here, let alone any beasts. Even ants and insects had hidden in their holes to lie dormant, unwilling to emerge. The mountain forest was desolate and soundless, silent as death.

"Before the Suanni passed away, it killed quite a few ferocious beasts and disturbed the Great Wilderness. All the birds and beasts here have fled," Shi Linhu said.

"No!" Clan Chief Shi Yunfeng suddenly shuddered, then urgently said, "Shi Linhu, don't rush. The Suanni's remains are unimaginably rare and precious. I'm afraid we aren't the only ones after them—some ferocious beasts must be watching as well. Retreat at once. Don't make the first move."

He sensed waves of danger. It was as if primordial giant beasts were secretly approaching from afar, their cold eyes fixed upon this region. The old clan chief's spine turned cold, and he ordered the villagers to withdraw.

Little Dot felt the same way. His hairs stood on end as he clenched his small fists tight. Shi Hao voiced his own feelings as well.

The group quickly rushed toward the outskirts, not daring to approach the collapsed stone mountain.

"To give up just like that... it really hurts!" Shi Feijiao pounded his chest, feeling stifled beyond measure.

"Don't be hasty. Wait for an opportunity. Human lives matter most. Even if the Suanni's true blood is world-shaking and the precious technique it left behind defies the heavens, you need to be alive to obtain them," Shi Yunfeng said sternly.

They had come quickly and left just as quickly. They climbed a high mountain and watched from afar, keeping close attention on the situation there.

Figures dotted the distance. Shouts rose from that stretch of forest as three groups arrived from three directions, belonging to different villages. Their goal was the same: rush toward the collapsed stone mountain and dig out the Suanni's corpse.

"Just as expected. Our clan wasn't the only one who learned that this ancient remnant, the Suanni, was about to die of old age. Everyone living near this Great Wilderness had been watching it."

The three parties faced off, and conflict broke out without surprise. Cries of battle filled the woods.

"Awoo!"

Five savage beasts suddenly appeared in succession, each as large as a house. Baring snow-white fangs, they pounced upon the crowd, also seeking to fight over the Suanni's corpse.

At the same time, long cries rang out from the sky. A gale sprang up as several vicious birds flew in. Each was five or six meters long, with wingspans of eleven or twelve meters. They dove down and tore six or seven people apart on the spot, blood splashing across the ground.

That bloody sight made not only those experiencing it firsthand tremble with fear—even the people of Stone Village watching from afar felt their scalps prickle. The vicious birds and savage beasts had returned. This was a disaster!

"Awoo!"

Sure enough, beast roars rose one after another from the mountains. The savage beasts and vicious birds that had earlier been scared away by the Suanni had all returned, now seeking to seize its corpse and make themselves stronger.

It was not only this forest. Even among the distant mountains, every powerful creature had set out. For a time, the cries of birds and beasts surged one after another, and the entire mountain range boiled over.

The beasts rioted. Some were dozens of meters long, others only a few feet, yet in the blink of an eye there were already hundreds of them. They were all powerful species—otherwise, they would not have dared charge in. Like a raging flood, they surged forward, roaring madly.

The same was true in the sky. All kinds of birds wheeled overhead, iron beaks and sharp talons filling the heavens and covering the earth. As if they had gone mad, they charged toward this mountain region, scales and feathers swirling through the air.

"Run!"

The people from the three villages left behind forty corpses and all leaped into a river, fleeing along the waterway. Otherwise, not a single one of them would have remained alive.

From the mountain peak, the people of Stone Village watching from afar had turned pale. They had considered that ferocious beasts might come to fight over the Suanni King's corpse, but they had never imagined there would be so many.

"Ah..."

The people who fled into the river, believing themselves safe, suddenly screamed. A giant snake dozens of meters long rolled through the water, opened its bloody maw, and swallowed four or five people in a single gulp.

"Crack!"

Elsewhere, a golden crocodile more than ten meters long surfaced. Opening a giant mouth as broad as a winnowing basket, it bit down on five or six people at once. Blood flowed down its sharp white teeth and stained the river red.

The sight sent chills seeping from between their bones. The survivors fled for their lives, not daring to linger even for a moment longer.

"How terrifying. Luckily, we retreated when we did. Otherwise, we'd probably have ended up just like them." Shi Linhu felt a wave of lingering fear and discovered that cold sweat had soaked his back.

"It seems the Suanni's body is even more precious than we imagined. Otherwise, why would the beasts and birds fight so desperately?" Shi Feijiao said.

Before the collapsed stone mountain, hundreds of savage beasts and vicious birds were charging about madly, trying to dig away the enormous rocks and unearth the Suanni's precious body. They were slaughtering one another as well. The stench of blood assailed the nose, while all kinds of roars thundered loud enough to deafen the ears!

"There are too many savage beasts. It isn't safe here either—we might be caught up in this!" an elder shouted.

"Awoo..."

The moment he finished speaking, a gale swept over the mountain. Two enormous creatures appeared side by side, each seven or eight meters long, covered in brown fur, with savage faces and wings growing from their ribs.

They were terrifying biao—and two had appeared at once!

Because of their strange appearance, biao were despised by mother tigers. They were never nursed and were abandoned, making it almost impossible for them to survive. They either starved to death or were devoured by mountain beasts. But if one was fortunate enough to survive and grow up, its savage might would shake the forests and it would devour every kind of beast.

Now, two biao had appeared together. It was truly astonishing. They were far more vicious than ordinary savage beasts and exceptionally difficult to deal with.

With a whoosh, a gale swept past. One giant biao moved, diving down and opening its bloody maw. It bit two villagers at once. With a crack, half of one person's body fell from the air, blood gushing wildly in a gruesome sight.

"Stone Forest!"

"A Yun!"

Several grief-stricken, furious roars rose from the villagers. Iron arrows rained forward.

It had happened too suddenly. The vicious biao could fly, and these seven- or eight-meter behemoths had appeared without warning. They were impossible to guard against, instantly causing a bloody slaughter.

"Beast!"

Shi Linhu and Shi Feijiao roared. Both swung their broad swords and charged forward, leading a group of the strongest men toward the vicious biao.

Though such creatures did not bear primal precious symbols upon their bones, their bodies were extraordinarily powerful and just as terrifying. Their destructive strength was astonishing. During ordinary hunts, the villagers did everything they could to avoid encountering them.

"Awoo..."

The other biao roared and pounced from the other side. It swung a claw, cold light flashing as metal rang and sparks flew. It knocked away every broad sword, club, and other weapon in the villagers' hands.

"Pfft!"

Two people were a moment too slow to dodge and were ripped open from chest to belly. Blood spilled everywhere as they suffered unimaginable injuries. The villagers dragged them back to safety.

"Big cat, give me back Uncle A Yun and the others' lives!" Shi Hao's eyes turned red as he rushed forward. Runes flickered across his arms, lighting up like stars. Specks of radiance glimmered between his palms and fingers, and then a silver moon appeared.

The moon looked incredibly real, as if a divine moon from the Ninth Heaven had fallen down. Holy radiance scattered from it as it shot toward one of the vicious biao.

"Clang!"

The vicious biao swung its winnowing-basket-sized claw. Cold light flashed as it struck the silver moon, producing a metallic tremor that made the entire mountain shake.

One had to know that this silver moon could split open huge boulders, its power boundless—yet the biao had met it head-on with its claws.

After a brief stalemate, there came a pfft. The vicious biao let out an earth-shaking roar. One of its claws was finally severed, blood gurgling out and staining the ground red.

At the same time, the silver moon did not lose momentum. With another pfft, it slashed into the beast's head, carving open a huge fissure. A horrifying wound spurted blood.

The beast's howl shook the heavens and the forest trembled. The vicious biao convulsed violently. Unwilling to the end, the ferocity in its eyes gradually faded, and with a boom, it collapsed into a pool of blood.

This was the precious technique of the Azure-Scaled Eagle clan. Its offensive power was astonishing. With a single strike, Shi Hao had slain a terrifying vicious biao.

"Well done! Little Dot, give it another!" Shi Feijiao shouted.

Shi Hao turned and rushed toward the other biao. Light flashed from his palm again as this precious technique, never passed on to outsiders, revealed its ferocious might once more. The silver moon swept past, and blood burst from the neck of the seven- or eight-meter giant biao. The silver light spun, directly severing its head, which fell to the ground with a thud.

The giant beast's blood sprayed out like a small river, splattering many villagers from head to toe.

"What a terrifying precious technique!"

That kind of attack was truly awe-inspiring.

After Little Dot killed the two vicious biao, he stood there blankly for a moment. This was the first time he had killed savage beasts in the mountains. Lowering his head, he looked at his tender white little hands and was unable to speak for a long while.

"It's all right, child. Don't think of it as bloody. What man raised in the Great Wilderness does not have blood on his hands? That's simply how it is!" Shi Linhu walked over and patted his shoulder.

Shi Hao nodded forcefully. Though his heart was far from calm, he kept his mouth shut and said nothing more. If he had not killed the vicious biao just now, many more clansmen would have been killed or wounded.

"Precious techniques really are powerful. They can kill vicious beasts, but they can save people too. If only we could obtain the Suanni's primal runes," Little Dot murmured softly after a long while.

A long cry rang out from the clouds as the Azure-Scaled Eagle appeared, diving down with a gale in its wake.

Little Dot leaped up, waving hard as he shouted, "Auntie Azure-Scaled Eagle, carry me up! You're the overlord of the forest's outskirts, and I can help too. Let's go fight for the Suanni's precious body together!"