The Curtain Falls

Beneath the night sky, the Fierce Bei was covered in golden runes. Its fur gleamed with flowing luster, its eyes exposed savage light, and treasure radiance bloomed from its entire body. Yet at this moment, it was terrified. The tender green shoot stretched toward it, making it cry out despite itself, its eyes filled with dread. Spreading its wings, lightning interweaving around it, it shot into the sky, trying to flee.

As powerful as the Fierce Bei was, it had not the slightest thought of resisting. It only wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible. Every hair on its body stood on end, and it fled in panic like a dog that had lost its home.

The Fierce Bei tore through the air and was about to vanish into the night, but the willow branch gave off a soft light. Like a divine chain of order, it soared skyward and caught up in an instant.

"Awooo..."

The Fierce Bei cried out in terror. Every strand of fur stood straight up as it beat its wings with all its might, golden runes intertwining. Its speed reached its limit, but it was all in vain.

The supple willow branch shimmered with flowing radiance, hazy light mist rising around it. With a puff, the tip of the green shoot pierced through the Fierce Bei's back, splashing a string of blood blossoms.

"Wuwu..." The old bei struggled, its eyes brimming with terror. It let out a heart-rending howl that shook the countless mountains and valleys.

The people of Stone Village were dumbstruck. They knew the Old Willow Tree was mysterious and utterly different from ordinary sacrificial spirits, but they had never imagined it would be so shocking.

This had only been a single exchange. The powerful sacrificial spirit of Bei Village had been pierced through the body, without even the slightest ability to resist. The gap between them was beyond imagination.

Just what was the Willow Tree's origin? It made people wonder. Clan Chief Shi Yunfeng's heart trembled. Back then, he had personally witnessed the terrifying sight of the Old Willow Tree bathing in a sea of lightning and descending from the heavens.

The green willow branch trembled lightly, its rosy light blazing. Bei Village's sacrificial spirit screamed as its flesh rapidly withered, then split into pieces. Its fur and bones aged, cracking like rotten wood as they fell from the night sky.

A tiny drop of golden liquid condensed and fell onto the tender shoot, where it was absorbed. Green light flowed over it, brimming with life. The willow branch withdrew and returned to the village.

A night wind swept past. Upon the charred lightning-struck wood, a willow branch emitted a gentle light, shrouding all of Stone Village. It was pale and hazy, harmonious and tranquil, like a painting unfurled.

The people of Stone Village stood with their mouths agape, unable to speak for a long while. For the first time, the Old Willow Tree had displayed its terrifying offensive power before them. Even with only a single tender branch, it had still slain the Fierce Bei.

In the past, it had always released a peaceful halo at night to guard the village. It had never once taken the initiative to leave and attack anyone. Yet today, it had made an exception.

"Did the Fierce Bei really die just like that?!"

Many felt that it was unreal. They had fought the Fierce Bei with all their strength, narrowly escaping death time and again, only for Bei Village's sacrificial spirit to be directly pierced through by a glistening green willow branch.

The contrast before and after was too great, completely unlike what they had imagined.

"Back to the village!"

The group was both shocked and overjoyed. The crisis had passed. They lifted the Suanni's precious body, carried the treasure horn red as crimson clouds, and rushed in great strides toward the village.

"Quickly, tend to the wounded!" Shi Yunfeng shouted anxiously.

Stone Village had also suffered heavy losses this time. Many had sustained grievous injuries. Some had lost arms, legs, and feet, doomed to be crippled for life, while others had died in battle.

Life in the Great Wilderness was this cruel. They fought savage beasts every day, and injuries and death were commonplace. Slaughter among humans themselves, however, was rare.

"Lin Hu, Fei Jiao, take the ancestral artifact and intercept Bei Village's group for me. Don't let a single one escape. Kill them all!"

Shi Yunfeng was decisive. After arranging for the wounded, he immediately issued this murderous command. He wanted to wipe out those people from Bei Village who knew the secret of the ancestral artifact, preventing the news from leaking out and bringing disaster upon them.

Little Dot had fought for an entire day. He had battled vicious beasts for the Suanni's precious body, fought Bei Village's people, suffered several arrow wounds, and then fought the Fierce Bei. He was already exhausted beyond measure.

Yet he still requested to join this operation. Shi Yunfeng hesitated slightly, then finally nodded in agreement. Jade could not become a fine vessel without carving; only after being tempered by blood and fire could Little Dot grow up.

This was destined to be a sleepless night. Shi Linhu and Shi Feijiao carried the ancestral artifact and led their clansmen in a ruthless purge of Bei Village's young and able-bodied men.

Blood splashed, lives were reaped. The moonlit night was bleak and cold, the forests stained red. Mountain beasts wailed, and the air was grim and chilling.

In the cruel Great Wilderness, human lives could sometimes be as cheap as grass. Many fine men had died in the jaws of vicious beasts, and the casualty rate was exceedingly high. Yet today, humans were slaughtering one another.

Bei Village had dispatched a total of one hundred and twenty-three people this time. Half had died in the beast tide, while most of the survivors were wounded. When they learned that their sacrificial spirit had died, the clan's morale plummeted and nearly collapsed.

What followed was a one-sided hunt. The people of Stone Village counted heads as they pursued and searched, eliminating them one by one.

With the Fierce Bei dead, those giant wolves abandoned Bei Village's people and returned to the mountains. Some giant wolves even turned on them directly, biting many Bei clansmen to death on the spot.

"You vicious old bastard, where do you think you're going!"

Shi Linhu roared and drew his massive bow. An iron arrow flew out, its cold gleam illuminating the forest. With a puff, it sank into Bei Liqing's back. The thick arrowhead punched through him, spraying a great burst of blood.

"I hate this!" the Bei Village chief roared.

"You old bastard, you've committed every evil under heaven. End your life sooner rather than later." Shi Feijiao also struck, swinging the greatsword in his hand. With a puff, a bloodstained head flew several meters away at an angle before falling to the ground.

Bei Liqing was dead. The surviving people of Bei Village turned pale, trembling with fright as they fled for their lives.

"Whoosh!"

A cold arrow shot out toward the back of Little Dot's head, vicious and precise. If it struck, it would surely pierce straight through his skull.

Shi Hao heard the sound of cold wind and swiftly dodged. He spun around sharply and stared into a stretch of forest, fury blazing in his eyes. "You again!"

A burly man lay concealed within the bushes, but he had now been exposed. He stood over two meters tall, his muscles powerful and strong, gleaming with bronzed treasure light. It was Bei Shan, leader of Bei Village's hunting party.

When Little Dot had fought Bei Village's people, the first arrow wound on his body had been inflicted by Bei Shan. At the time, he had hidden in the shadows and shot an arrow through one of Shi Hao's arms, drawing much blood. Now, he had attacked again.

"Weng!"

Shi Hao raised his hand, and a Beast-Tusk Strand flew out. Like a gleaming white divine chain, it emitted divine radiance as it shot forward. With a crack, it twisted Bei Shan's huge bow into pieces.

The Fierce Bei was dead, and the treasure artifact had completely lost its connection to it. Little Dot wielded it with ever greater ease, as naturally as moving an arm or finger. The crystalline, dazzling Beast-Tusk Strand was indestructible and possessed tremendous attack power.

Bei Shan drew his greatsword and charged at Little Dot. Cold, sinister light swept through the forest. His arm strength of five or six thousand jin was ferocious beyond belief as he swung the broad sword with both hands, as though cleaving out a bolt of lightning.

Runes flickered at Little Dot's fingertips. The Beast-Tusk Strand shone like stars, each tusk translucent and sparkling. It coiled around the snow-bright greatsword, and with several cracks, ground it into pieces, turning it into scrap iron scattered across the ground. Such was the power of a treasure artifact.

"Puff," "puff"...

Forty-two warm, lustrous beast tusks flew out separately, transforming into divine spears, light arrows, and more as they crashed into Bei Shan's body. Blood erupted. His arms, legs, and other limbs were all shattered, and his robust body over two meters tall crashed to the ground with a boom.

The motes of light gathered together and became the snow-white Beast-Tusk Strand, which curled around Shi Hao's wrist, shimmering with flowing radiance.

"Little Dot, kill him!" Shi Linhu said sternly as he strode over.

Shi Feijiao also approached with his blood-dripping greatsword. "How can a good man living in the Great Wilderness avoid killing? You may be young, and your strength may surpass all of ours, but if you never kill anyone, you'll suffer a great loss sooner or later."

"I know..." Little Shi Hao's large eyes fluttered, his long lashes trembling lightly. Complicated expressions appeared one after another on his small face—nervousness, pain, struggle, resolve...

"Little brat, I never thought you would truly amount to something. It's a pity that arrow of mine only pierced your forearm instead of punching through your throat." Bei Shan bared a mouthful of snow-white teeth, looking exceedingly vicious.

Little Shi Hao closed his eyes. He thought of Uncle Awen's chest being pierced through by Bei Shan's arrow. His eyes snapped open, and he swung the greatsword down. With a puff, the man's head rolled away, spurting blood everywhere.

"Uncle Lin Hu, I'm tired." Little Dot dropped the greatsword and spoke softly.

He had fought for an entire day, continuously activating the Silver Moon. His enemies had grown more terrifying one after another: vicious beasts, ruthless humans, and the Fierce Bei. With several arrow wounds on his body, he had long been exhausted in both body and spirit. After speaking, he closed his eyes.

"Get some sleep." Shi Linhu carried him onto his back.

When Shi Hao woke again, a day and a night had already passed. His wounds had been treated and scabbed over. The hunt for Bei Village's people had also ended; every last one had been killed. Stone Village had struck with iron-blooded force this time, merciless in action. Not one of that group had been spared. Over a hundred heads piled together made for a terrifying sight, while some others had been buried in the bellies of beasts before anyone could even kill them.

Boom!

Suddenly, from the deepest reaches of the Great Wilderness, a sea of fire erupted, blazing incomparably bright. A bird cry shook heaven and earth, splitting the sky apart!

The scarlet flames were at their peak, burning until even the heavens seemed to collapse. A small red bird streaked across the sky, its divine might astonishing!

With a wonglong sound, a massive golden claw reached down from the dense clouds, blotting out the sky and covering the earth as it grabbed toward the scarlet little bird. Its might was peerless.

"Chi!"

The little red bird shifted sideways and swiftly dodged. That furry golden claw crushed an entire mountain ridge in one grasp, sending shattered rocks shooting through the air in a scene of unparalleled terror.

"Ah, it's that little red bird I saw before!" Little Dot exclaimed in shock, his eyes wide. Not long after awakening, he had witnessed this earthshaking scene.

"What exactly happened? Could it be that the battle from two years ago never ended? Are the strongest ancient relics still guarding the mountain treasure, still fighting over it?!" Shi Yunfeng was also stunned.

Boom!

The golden claw reached down once more, its demonic might covering the world and scattering the scarlet flames. It was impossible to imagine how enormous its true body was. Just one golden claw was already up in the clouds!